Turles
(Original Dub: Tullece) Turles (ターレス Tāresu) is a character from the Dragon Ball Z movie special, The Tree of Might. His first appearance was in the third Dragon Ball Z movie and the second was in the two-volume VHS O.V.A. released as a "Official Visual Guide" for the Bandai NES game, Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans. Turles's name is a pun on the vegetable "lettuce". The name is written out as ターレス, Tāresu. If the first two syllables are rearranged, it becomes レタース, retāsu. Ignoring the elongated "a" sound, it becomes the accurate Japanese spelling of "lettuce", レタス retasu. Aside from a different skin tone and two "devil horns" in his hair, Turles looks exactly the same as Goku. In the French dub of the film, it claimed that Turles was actually Goku's long-lost identical twin brother. Nothing is actually stated in the movie or official Japanese publications to this extent. In the Dragon Ball Z: Anime Film Comics, it was stated that the reason why Turles and Goku looked alike is because within the low-rank Saiyans, the facial patterns of each warrior were similar, thus making it easy to mark which Saiyans were low-castes. Background Turles is a low-class Saiyan warrior and former servant of Frieza, so it's possible that Turles escaped Planet Vegeta because he was on a mission. He also is so strong because he ate more of the Fruit of Might; this also means that he planted the Tree of Might on more planets. Now he leads a small group of renegade warriors across the universe. DBZ Movie 3: The Tree of Might The seed of the Tree of Might has come into possession of the Saiyan Turles. When the tree is planted, it saps the energy of the world in which the tree has taken root. Therefore, he seeks out a planet that he would be able to plant the seed on, so he can eat the Fruit of the Gods, and become exponentially stronger than before. With him, he has gathered a medley of ragtag thugs, all of whom are quite strong (stronger than the average Z Fighters). He mainly watches the battle between his men and the Z Fighters. He does not appear until he sees Gohan defeating one of his men, single-handedly. He realizes that he is the son of Kakarot (Goku). He soon meets with him. Gohan is shocked to find that he has almost identical appearance to his father, and is also in fact a Saiyan. Turles's asks him to join his team, yet Gohan refuses. Piccolo soon comes to Gohan's rescue, but is defeated easily by Turles. Turles soon sees Gohan has grown back his tail. he quickly creates a Bruits Wave energy ball and forces Gohan to look at it. Helpless, Gohan transforms into a Great Ape. Gohan soon goes on a rampage, and nearly kills Goku. He abruptly stops when he sees his friend Icarus in the area. He stops and, thanks to his childhood innocence, plays around with Icarus. Turles, however, attacks Icarus, presumable killing him (he survives though), provoking Gohan. To Turles's surprise, Gohan is able to control himself and specifically attack Turles. However, Great Ape Gohan is no match for Turles, and is nearly killed. But Goku cuts his tail off before getting hit with Turles's deadly final attack. Goku swears revenge on Turles for harming his son. With the Z Warriors defeated with much ease, Turles's men all attack Goku. Watching at the sidelines, Turles is ambushed by Piccolo. Turles is able to survive Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon at blank point rage, and with one blast, Turles defeats Piccolo. With a single Kaio-ken, Goku kills all of Turles's men with a single hit each. To the fear of Turles, Goku's power continues to increase. Turles soon finds out he is no match for Goku. Eventually, Turles grabs a piece of fruit from the tree. This makes his strength dramatically increase. Even with a Kaio-ken at ten-times its normal strength and a Spirit Bomb formed from what little remained of the planet's energy, Goku is unable to topple Turles. It is only with a newly formed Spirit Bomb containing energy from the Tree of Might that Goku is able to defeat Turles. Other appearances ]] Turles also appears in the OVA Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans as a "ghost warrior", but is eventually killed again[http://www.daizex.com/general/playdia/ Daizenshuu EX Gaiden Explanation]. He made his first appearance as a playable character in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, featuring a never before seen Great Ape transformation. His Great Ape form in the game is typical of untrained lower-class soldiers, and cannot control his mind. Turles/Goku Controversy There has been great controversy over Turles's identical appearance to Goku. Several different dubs have given different explanations to this. *In the Japanese, Pioneer American, and several other dubs have said that the reason as to why the two look alike is that low-class Saiyan warriors don't have many types, which means it'd be likely for several to have the exact same appearance as the others. This explanation is the most highly regarded one, although, in the movie, Turles calls Goku "low-class trash". This could indicate that Turles is not exactly a low-class warrior or that he doesn't consider himself to be one. *In the FUNimation re-dub, the explanation was the two were struck from the same mold, yet different people. This would mean Saiyans were given specific looks. It is probable that this was just a metaphor for the Japanese explanation. *In the French and Danish dub, Turles stated that both he and Goku were in fact brothers (presumably twins). This explanation has been criticized and mocked by fans. For this, and some other reasons, the French dub is held in low regard. *In the complete family tree of DBZ character Turles is positioned far off alone, not connected to Goku's family tree whatsoever. *There has also been controversy that Goku and Turles are distant cousins. *It is known that Bardock knows Turles for in Shin Budokai Another road, if you play Bardock against Gohan, Bardock says "You look familiar. Are you Turles' son?" *Turles' age is unknown, though he appears to be around same age as Goku, it is possible that he is several years older than Goku (as Saiyans age slower than human, in order to stay younger longer in order to fight more), possibly the age Bardock would be if he had survived (in other words Turles would have been around the same age as Bardock when Planet Vegeta was destoryed). Turles is likely much older than Goku given that he knowledgeable of Saiyans (He was aware of Kakarot's mission to Earth) and is the only Saiyan other than Prince Vegeta (and King Vegeta) shown to using the Power Ball, making him the only Low-Class Saiyan known to use it. *Some people believe that Turles was made to show what Goku may have been like if he had not hit his head and become amnesic in his early childhood, as he was originally deployed to destroy the planet. Power Level? It was stated by Turles himself that Goku had a power level of roughly 30,000. A battle ensued with Goku gaining an upper hand, which meant that Turles' power level was slightly weaker. After eating a piece of fruit from the Tree of Might, Turles' power level increased exponentially. Goku then multiplied his Kaioken by ten fold to try and match him. Turles defeated Goku's Kaioken x10 with ease and Goku had a power level of nearly 300,000 when he used it. This would possibly put Turles at a level to where he could rival that of Frieza in his first form, whom was confirmed to have a power level of 530,000. Relationship with Vegeta? In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and the next installment Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Turles and Vegeta have a special pre-battle conversation. Vegeta starts it by saying "Your face is utterly disgusting!", to which Turles replies by saying "Well, this brings back memories." This implies that somewhere out in space, Turles and Vegeta had a confrontation and have had a rivalry ever since. However, Turles' only two anime appearances were in The Tree of Might and Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans, both were considered to be highly non-canon. So in the actual storyline of DBZ(the series), Turles never existed. Special techniques *'Fruits of Tree of Might': Turles has somehow obtained the seeds of the Tree of Might, and has planted them on various planets to produce fruit that gives the eater immense strength enhancement. Turles has eaten plenty of them to become extremely powerful, dramatically transcending the levels of his former status as a low-class warrior. *'Power Ball': By combining his ki with the planet's atmosphere, Turles can create a ball of condensed Bruits ray, which simulates the effects of a full moon, allowing him to transform into a Great Ape. *'Great Ape': Like all Saiyans with a tail, Turles can transform into a Giant Ape at the sight of a full moon (or similar sources). Though he has never transformed in the Movie, and he stated that he would lose his wits if he does, he is seen transformed in the games. *'Kill Driver': Tullece creates a fiery ring of ki and launches it at his opponents, releasing a massive explosion that is strong enough to kill a Great Ape. *'Continuous Energy Bullets': Turles releases a rapid barrage of energy blasts at his opponents, causing a massive accumulation of damage. Voice Actors * Japanese Dub: Masako Nozawa * Ocean Dub: Ted Cole * FUNimation Dub: Chris Patton Notes and references External links * [http://www.jeux-france.com/Webmasters/Images/4970620060529_011802_2_big.jpg Tullece in Budokai Tenkaichi 2] * Character profile at http://www.absoluteanime.com Category:Characters who can fly Category:Full-blooded saiyans Category:Villains